One Year Bible - October 23, 2010

JEREMIAH 42:1 - 44:23                                                                                                     
THE REMNANT OF JUDAH: This is not "God's Remnant" - the ones who continue to cling to God for deliverance.  This is a phony, hypocritical, counterfeit remnant - the RESIDUE of Judah - a rebellious guerilla band.  They tried to manipulate Jeremiah to win God's favor.  They were afraid of the Babylonians, fearing reprisal for the slaying of Gedaliah.

"PRAY FOR US..." The people asked Jeremiah to pray to God to see whether or not they should go down into Egypt to hide from Nebuchadnezzar.  Jeremiah told them that if they went to Egypt, they would die by the sword, by famine, and by plague - NO SURVIVORS.  Egypt, a Bible type of the world-system, seems safe.  The flesh leads us to trust in the world-spirit because it looks sensible and powerful.  They had no intention of obeying the Lord if His Word was not in accordance with their wishes. They only looked religious. They were looking for a scriptural way to disobey God!   Their words sounded good, but their hearts were wrong.  They went to Egypt anyway, and took Jeremiah and Baruch with them.  The flesh manifested in outward religion but had inward rebellion.  They thought they were running from "sword, famine and plague" and instead they ran right TO it.  The problem isn't our circumstances.   It is our hearts.

BACK TO THE LAND OF BONDAGE: 900 years before, God delivered them from Egypt. Now they are back, despite God's warning.  God had Jeremiah bury some stones in mortar at the entrance of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes as a testimony to the fact that Nebuchadnezzar would come down to Egypt and spread his royal canopy over these stones.

THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN:  Mother-Goddess worship - the forerunner of many religious practices even today. The people claimed that when they worshipped her and gave her offerings, nothing bad happened to them and they had plenty to eat and drink.  But since they stopped this practice, they have lacked provisions, many have suffered and died.  They say that their problem is that they have offended the Queen of Heaven!  They don't care that they have offended God, and they don't care what God says, they are going to do what they want.  SOMEBODY SHOULD REMIND THEM: They had lots of trouble in Judah. LOTS! The fact that their suffering has abated was not due to the Queen of Heaven, but to the grace of God withholding judgment.

RESPONSE: Talk about stupid!  They have dared God to do something.  It is far better to be the REMNANT, not the RESIDUE.   It's time to flush the toilet on this.  On the other hand, if this is talking about people I know and care about, who are just as stupid - - - let's continue to pray for them.  Maybe they'll change their minds.   I've heard them justify their rebellion all kinds of ways - mostly antibiblical.  But, instead of running FROM perceived danger, they are running right into it!

2 TIMOTHY 2:1-21                                                                                                                 
HOLDING UP UNDER THE PRESSURE TO "TRY SOMETHING ELSE":

(1) chapter 1: Guard the Truth.  V.13 says "hold fast the pattern of sound words".  The Bible reveals the actual nature of Reality.  So it is to be much more trusted than anything else.

(2) chapter 2: Be strong in the Lord. V.1 says "be strong in the grace of Jesus..."  God's grace is God's sufficiency, and He is sufficient in ALL things: in power, in authority, in strength, in compassion, in mercy, in physical needs, everything.  First of all, it should be noted that the word for "strong" here is "endunamoo" which is a compound word: "enduo" means "to be clothed upon" and "dunamis" refers to "power that emanates from God's nature in me."  It is the pressing reality and impact of God's life in me. It is the available Resources of God. Additional synonyms are might, ability, strength, sufficiency, force, wealth, dominion, valor.

But how do we stay strong? (2:3-4) Like a soldier of Jesus Christ, we "endure hardness", which means we stay committed, no matter what happens.  We don't allow circumstances to distract us and we do NOT consider Christianity a "side-trip" or a detour.  It is our life now. Our goal is to always please God in all we say and do.  When we "signed up" for God's army, we separated ourselves from all other pursuits and even from permissible things that might keep us from God's best.  (2:5) Like an athlete, we don't "cut corners" - or take shortcuts. "Striving lawfully" does not refer to the race itself, but to the rules of training.  We are disciplined.  We don't try to live godly, we train rigorously.  (2:6) Like a farmer, we stay "engaged" or fully involved and diligent.  (2:7-14) Endurance wins the crown. We "suffer", rather than deny the Lord.  After all, we consider ourselves dead to the world, and alive only to God. (2:15-26) Beware of pitfalls and traps that will hinder your testimony: arguments over words, dangerous desires of the flesh (walk away from some; RUN from others; don't try to suppress them!), and rebellious or defiant attitudes.

RESPONSE:  Staying spiritually strong is a commitment that must be rigorously pursued.  To be "strong in God's grace" - rather just "be strong..." is a good thing!  God's grace is "sufficient" and I am not!  I come to the end of my own strength all the time!  I just say, "Help me, Jesus" as I continue on to finish my day.  Otherwise I would sin by complaining, whining, making other people pick up my jobs, being ungrateful, making excuses, being disobedient to what God called me to.  I know that I must "endure hardness" - being a Christian is not just something I DO, it is who I am.  Even when I don't feel like it, I do the job right, because Jesus would see if I cut corners.  Shortcuts are the same thing as "breaking training"!  If I do that, I don't just "miss the mark", I miss the kingdom!   It's not just a "flub-up", it is sin and I need to repent, but sometimes it is too lake to go back and "fix it". 

PSALM 92:1 - 93:5                                                                                                     
Please refer back to the background information of Psalm 90-106: the "Numbers" Psalms - "Labouring" to enter in to God's Rest.

Psalm 92: Praise and thanks to God give us access to God's Rest and His Benefits. "Lovingkindness" and "faithfulness" (v.2) are to be found in His Presence. The "brutish" (senseless) man, the "fool", the "wicked" , the "workers of iniquity" will not experience the benefits of knowing God.   But the righteous, those "planted in the house of the Lord" will flourish, stay fruitful, right up until they die. No "wasting away" for us!

Psalm 93 assures us that God is completely and totally in charge. He is mightier and higher than anything that might come against us. And not one thing about God is temporary except His anger! Psa 93 is a good Psalm to read out loud in reassuring our hearts that it is SAFE to trust God.

PROVERBS 26:3-5                                                                                                     
DEALING WITH FOOLS: A fool is described throughout Scripture as being shamelessly self-deceived, self-sufficient, careless, and conceited.  He is on the path to destruction and death.  What brought him to this condition was the lack of the fear of God.  This empty and hollow person is a spiritual maniac. (1) It is inappropriate to give honor to a fool. (2) He can be compared to a horse or a donkey: stubborn and unreasonable, so don't bother arguing with him; he only understands force. (3) Don't be brought down to his level by taunting or sneering back at him. (4) Give him an answer that makes sense, so that he doesn't think he has rendered you speechless! In other words, DO NOT answer when your answer will make you look as foolish as he is. DO answer when a non-answer will look like he has convinced you of something foolish. Remember: Never defend yourself. Never demands your rights. Never complain.